Rod Smith... Former Bronco! ‘There are two places I want to look good at: home and practice.’ Rod Smith

Rod Smith: The article below from Forbes Magazine says it all.-------------------------Much has been said recently about NFL players squandering away their hefty salaries and going broke. A 2009 Sports Illustrated report asserted that within two years of retiring, 78% of NFL players face financial stress. This number and the subsequent investigations and stories into what causes so many NFL players to hit financial rock bottom are alarming. However, they do not paint the entire picture. Rather, the entire picture is one that captures young men climbing the ranks of the NFL and into financial security by making wise investment decisions, partnering with sound advisors and ultimately, recognizing that they must plan financially for life after football. The following is the story of three NFL players who made calculated decisions to ensure their financial security after the game ended.

The Pro Bowl RetireeAt the age of ten, Rod Smith sat in front of his television watching an episode of “Where Are They Now?” on HBO. At the time, Smith didn’t recognize the impact that the scene being portrayed on the television screen would have on his financial success. “There was a guy on the show who played in the NFL and then became homeless. At that point in my life, I was watching every NFL game and also playing football. When I saw that, I thought, ‘when I get into the NFL, there is no way I’m going broke,’” a retired Smith said on an October afternoon.

Fourteen years after watching that HBO documentary, Smith finished an impressive collegiate career at Missouri Southern State University. There, he completed three degrees in business, economics and finance, and marketing and management. Smith also excelled on the gridiron, going so far as being named a finalist for Division II’s version of the Heisman Trophy. Yet, when the final name in the 1994 NFL draft was called, Smith’s name was not announced. Thus, it was without any bells, whistles, glitz or glamour, that Smith’s three-time Pro Bowl appearance and 14-year NFL career began. This beginning would foreshadow the way in which Smith secured his financial stability.

Although he was not drafted, Smith signed with the New England Patriots in 1994. The team released him prior to the season, but he was thereafter signed to the Denver Broncos’ practice squad. “I didn’t get drafted, so that helped me build financial stability. I had a chance to be in the NFL, but not a chance to be in the NFL lifestyle, because I didn’t have the income for it.” Smith notes that one way young NFL players get into financial trouble is by attempting to keep up with the financial luxuries of other players in the locker room. “I didn’t come into the NFL with money. I started on the practice squad making $60,000 my first year. It was a whole lot of money to me, but nothing in comparison to the lifestyle of the guys I was around in the locker room. I was making $3,000 a week and people around me were making $100,000 per week. You could get caught up in that,” Smith said.

As the size of his contract grew during the course his career, Smith remained relatively frugal. He cites this frugality as the basis for his current financial stability six years into his retirement from the NFL. “The most luxurious thing I bought was my house. I wasn’t a big jewelry or car guy. I don’t have Ferraris and Bentleys. I had a motto that I lived by, ‘There are two places I want to look good at: home and practice.’ Most guys get caught up in looking good on the streets. If you have to show people you have money, you’re not rich,” Smith said.

Ultimately though, it was that fear instilled in Smith as a ten-year-old boy watching the life of an NFL hero unravel on a TV screen that drove him to ensure his post-NFL financial security. “I snuck up on my locker for 14 years. I saw them fire people, and when they did, the first thing they did was take their name off of the locker and put their stuff in a trash bag. That was my fear. For 14 years, I walked up to my locker, saw my name and thought, ‘I have one more day.’ I was always in fear that one day they were going to decide I wasn’t good enough. I took advantage of everyday and went to practice.

The tangible fear within Smith led him to push himself during and outside of practice to become the best football player he could be. “During the off-season, we got paid up to $100 to workout. I would have endorsement deals, where people would pay me $10,000 to do an autograph signing. I wouldn’t go to the signing, and they’d say I was crazy. I said if I went to offseason workouts and did what I was supposed to do, I’d make millions,” Smith noted. Smith asserts that a similar work ethic is lacking in the league today. “You have these guys who call themselves celebrities now. They are not professional football players. As soon as the reality show is over, real life hits, your career is over and you are broke. If you look down and there aren’t cleats on your feet, that’s a problem.”​In retirement, Smith continues a practice he began in the Broncos locker room when Mike Shanahan was coaching, of mentoring younger players about financial responsibility. “I appreciate Shanahan, because he let me teach a financial class to the rookies. Nobody was teaching me these principles. I learned them from watching people,” Smith explained. Ultimately though, Smith credits the fear put in him by that HBO documentary for his financial success. “I was always in fear. That fear made me a little more conservative. That fear has me here five years later, living the way I want to live. My lifestyle hasn’t gone down at all. It’s actually getting better because of some of the things I’ve done outside of football.”

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